Aviation In Film History: Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb

If you're an older boomer you're likely to have vivid memories from this black comedy classic by director, Stanley Kubrick. It premiered in January 1964, fifteen months after the United States and Soviet Union pulled back from nuclear confrontation brought about by the Cuban missile crisis and twenty years of the Cold War. The plot involves the failure of a "fail safe" nuclear attack system and the personalities fated to deal with it. They include among others, Gen. "Buck" Turgidson, Brig. Gen. Jack Ripper, Col. "Bat" Guano, Maj. "King" Kong, Soviet Ambassador Alexis de Sadesky and President Merkin Muffley.

George C, Scott, and Slim Pickens are in the cast, all led by the comedy genius of Peter Sellers who plays three characters.

Dr Strangelove consistently finds itself rising in "best of" film lists everywhere as it approaches its fiftieth anniversary. There is so much material in this film from dialog to set design to editing that it has become a course subject in many universities across the nation, and not just in those popular culture courses.

OTR's readers may wonder why he feels it necessary to discuss such a well-known film. The motivation here is to reach younger viewers who more and more seems to find little value in anything older than their birth date. Furthermore, the focus on the here and now seems to tighten more everyday. Sometimes it's essential to stop and listen to yesterday if we're going to have anything to say about tomorrow.  The bottom line: don't miss this masterpiece.

Here is the first part of a documentary on the making of Dr. Strangelove. It's a great teaser and has some interesting background on Kubrick and the world setting that shaped the production: